DataXu Enhances Omnichannel Offering by Appointing TV Veteran to Lead Dedicated Team

TV team expands footprint of programmatic across devices and formats to help marketers gain a more complete understanding of consumers and reduce complexity

BOSTON, MASS. – June 13, 2016 – DataXu, a leading provider of programmatic marketing software, today announced the appointment of Tore Tellefsen as Vice President of TV Solutions as of June 13. Tellefsen’s appointment comes as the company expands its programmatic footprint across all devices and formats to encompass television, a mission it began last year with the launch of its OneView cross-device marketing software. With increasing amounts of data around television viewership available and advancements in digital video ads, the ecosystem is finally primed for programmatic TV and DataXu is ready to help its customers capitalize on all sight, sound and motion options available to better reach and engage consumers.

“Delivering improved marketing ROI for advertisers by joining our omnichannel technology with data for audience buying is a key focus of our innovation strategy,” said DataXu CEO and Co-Founder Mike Baker. “DataXu’s programmatic TV efforts accelerated in 2015 with our DISH Media Sales partnership as we bridged the gap between digital and TV advertising, followed in 2016 with Sky’s $10 million investment in DataXu. It’s great that we’re deepening our efforts with an industry veteran like Tore, who brings more than 14 years of video advertising experience and a track record of customer obsession, leadership and success to our team.”

Previously, Tellefsen served more than 8 years at Microsoft, where he was Director of Video Advertising, and prior to that spent 6 years at programmatic television pioneer Navic Networks, which Microsoft acquired in 2008. Tellefsen will lead the programmatic TV team at DataXu and will leverage marketing science and advanced analytics to help advertisers better understand consumers and drive increased ROI through data-enhanced television. Tellefsen was initially drawn to DataXu by the company’s participation in an inter-industry coalition formed to build out standards for programmatic TV buying in March 2016.

“DataXu’s focus on the application of data science to deliver better marketing, proven expertise in media mix optimization and analytics, and bullish approach to programmatic television provide a strong foundation to help our customers reach and engage consumers across all screens and formats,” said Tellefsen. “I look forward to leveraging my previous experiences to deliver programmatic television offerings based on advanced data science and deep consumer insights.”